The month of September began, and with it, reflections on how to mitigate suicide and mental health care within the Yellow September campaign. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Brazil is the most anxious country in the world and the fifth most depressed. What does this have to do with diversity markers?
Black people, women and the LGBTQIAPN+ population are affected with potential triggers arising from the discriminatory ways in which people belonging to these groups are treated.
The non-acceptance of their bodies in spaces previously occupied by those who have the right and access to privileges causes discomfort and violence that can never be minimized, and damage that may be irreversible.
If, on the one hand, there is an overload that many black professionals suffer (because they are demanding and donate in a strenuous way to achieve visibility in companies), on the other, there are reports of black women who feel a lack of belonging when reaching higher hierarchical levels. high in the corporate environment.
A paradox that results in frightening numbers. Data from the Ministry of Health show that the number of young black people and teenagers who commit suicide in Brazil is 45% higher than among white people. The study also states that black males, aged between 10 and 29 years, are those who suffer the most, with 50% more chances of committing suicide than white people in the same age group.
At this point I take the liberty of focusing on this group (young black people) and discussing initiatives that can prevent that old whitening project, which has been annihilating black people for years, from taking place outside of strategies (or lack thereof) to take care of these people who have been so vulnerable.
We need to talk to our boys. Yes, this is an increasingly imperative truth. And if access to health professionals, psychologists and psychiatrists is still scarce for a large part of the population, a possible path is through the creation of public policies that consider these social and racial aspects.
It is also up to companies, through affirmative action, to implement initiatives that unite efforts in this fight, which can also be called anti-racist.
Minor apprentice and internship programs must consider the racial issue for monitoring, feedbacks and even in the selection process. In addition, as in affirmative selection processes and policies for retaining and promoting black professionals, there are actions specifically aimed at creating welcoming environments that allow the professional growth of these people in the company. Because, at the end of the day, who is to blame? For whom and when do black lives matter?
Boys take their own lives because they no longer see possibilities, because they take to the extreme how much the fact of not belonging causes pain. These violence, even when not practiced directly, cannot be perpetuated.
We need to talk to white, heterosexual, cis men, those who are the majority in power in companies, in Legislative Houses, who make decisions in our society, so that they can act on this situation.
Doing nothing is also a choice. So, this yellow September, every time you reflect, that you propose dialogue circles, chats, actions with experts, etc., don’t forget the black boys, don’t forget to do something to change the numbers that scream in the in front of us and which urgently need to be reversed.
* This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Adnews
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